Google wants new $249, ARM-based Chromebook to be your second computer

Google's calling it "the new Samsung Chromebook," giving it an A15 chip.

Google today announced a new Chromebook from Samsung with refreshed specs and a $249 price point, pitching the computer as an additional laptop for people who do their primary computing on a Windows or Mac computer. Think of it as a computer for your kitchen counter. The new device is the first Chromebook to use an ARM chip rather than an Intel one, which may well prove to be a better fit for what has historically been a niche device.

Google’s Chromebook has its fans, and it has seen adoption in school settings, but it hasn't achieved any sort of mass success. But Google has steadily improved both the software and hardware, earlier this year introducing the Aura interface that made viewing multiple windows at the same time possible. A few months later, the company announced software tweaks to the OS and the Chromebox, a desktop running Chrome OS. This time, though, it hopes to move away from the school-and-business market to users who want a simple extension of their home network.

The Samsung-made device is designed to be cheaper, faster, and easier to use than other comparable laptops. The company says the laptop will be much more widely available in brick and mortar stores starting next week (and you’ll start seeing jazzy new commercials from its new ad campaign tonight). The new laptop—which SVP of Chrome and Apps Sundar Pichai says will be simply called “the new Samsung Chromebook”—will be available in the US and UK only.

The specs

The $249 device is the first consumer-oriented laptop to ship with the A15 ARM chip from Samsung, the Exynos 5250 or "5 dual" chip. (This was designed to show great performance in smartphones and tablets.) Google went to lengths to differentiate its offering from Windows RT devices. Pinchai speculated that most Windows RT devices will be more expensive than the new Chromebook, while not operating on the newer A15. “Certainly some [Windows Devices] will be on A9," he noted.

The “New Samsung Chromebook” is Wi-Fi-only, weighs 2.5 pounds, and is 0.8 inches thick. The laptop also supports 1080p video at 30 fps for an 11.6” display. Google claims it has 6.5 hours of battery life. While previous Chromebooks have come with built-in 3G connectivity and a limited amount of free access from Verizon Wireless, the low price of the laptop makes the decision to include only Wi-Fi a lot more tolerable.

The computer comes with 16GB of flash storage, 2GB of RAM, and a free 100GB allotment of cloud storage on Google Drive for two years with the purchase of the new Chromebook. Google’s Pichai said, “We really want people to rely on keeping their information in Google drive so they have access to their information everywhere,” and naturally, extend Google’s reach to improve search.

The Chromebook will have a full-size keyboard and trackpad. It also lacks a fan—so it will be nice and quiet. The device comes with one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, and an HDMI port.

The software updates

Google reminded the press that it updates its OS “every six weeks.” The newest iteration emphasizes one-click access to Google Play, as well as much-needed one-click access to a Windows or Mac machine (an improvement over previous remote-capabilities that were more difficult to use).

“We’ve really made it easy for consumers to remote into a Windows or a Mac machine,” Pichai said, referring to Chrome OS's remote desktop service. Google also noted it was making integration with Android phones and tablets more seamless, with a single sign-in to access various Android devices from the Chromebook and vice versa. For example, if you look up directions to a restaurant on the Chromebook, Google Now assumes that you’re going there and sends a notification to your phone. If you use your Chromebook to wirelessly print a flight boarding pass, Chrome OS can send that boarding pass to your phone.

Offline capabilities are somewhat improved in this version of Chrome OS as well. Any game or movie downloaded from Google Play can be accessed offline, and there’s a shortcut to editing and viewing Docs offline (an activity that has previously been slightly more difficult than it should have been). An offline version of Gmail is similarly available with one-click access.

Will it catch on?

Ars was able to play around with the new Chromebook, and it seems snappy and easy to use (look for a longer hands-on in the coming weeks). Samsung's casing does feel about as expensive as you'd imagine for a $249 laptop; the cheap plastic doesn't feel flimsy but it doesn't feel sleek either. The screen also leaves a little to be desired if you're used to an iPad, Kindle Fire, or something in a comparable market and price range.

As the SVP of Chrome and Apps noted, “people who actually live in the cloud have a really good experience.” That’s pretty consistent with how the Chromebook has always presented itself to its audience. But this time, the more robust offline capabilities and a slicker way to remote into a user’s primary desktop(s) will make the pitch for your dollars more respectable.

When asked whether the low-priced laptop can compete against tablets that do essentially the same thing, Pichai said the Chromebook does address a lot of the same needs a tablet does. But “students really need a device with a keyboard.” So how well would this laptop fare against a Macbook Air? That’s like "taking a Nissan leaf and comparing it to a Tesla Model X," Pichai said.

And, Pichai said, using it should be dead simple for even the least technical people: “You start using the computer, you sign in, [and] there’s pretty much nothing else you need to do. The only thing you need to do is charge the battery.”

Promoted Comments

I think I'm starting to suffer from EDS, "Electronic Device Saturation". Second computer? Hell, this would be a 4th or 5th in my case. Desktop at work, smart phone(android[which I do a hell of a lot on]), gaming PC & Laptop at the domicile.

The pie for consumer electronics is getting outlandishly narrowed into many pieces, with all the producers of these devices screaming theirs is best and can offer so much for people. That's fine, but if all of us were to keep it up, we'll have to start wearing bandoleers just to hold all of our devices, which really goes against one of the primary ideological properties of these items, compact and mobile. Might as well get the ruck sack out for all your stuff at this rate.

165 Reader Comments

Hmm, I've been looking at getting a tablet for a while, since I only have a desktop at the moment and it would be great to have something to quickly pull up a website with (as I don't have a smartphone either). Goodness knows that I would rather have a keyboard and track-pad than a touchscreen, so this may be what I've been looking for, cheap, yet incredibly functional and portable.

1. Personally after having a tablet with a touchscreen, I hate the trackpad. Every laptop needs a touchscreen and it will become standard in the next two years. (It will be like buying a car without A/C)

2. You need the keyboard less than you think. I love the transformer tablet. 90% of the time I leave it un-docked, most of the time I connect the keyboard is for the battery power or to act as a cover when traveling and maybe 1-2% of the time to use the actual keyboard.

See that's what most people tell me, but I used to own a smartphone, and I've used my mother's iPad enough to know I just much prefer the use of a keyboard and trackpad (well, mouse, but a trackpad is not bad either).

If you want to browse the internet and write quick emails you get a tabletIf you want to create content and run real apps you get a laptop/desktopIf you want to browse the internet and write long emails you get a chromebook?

No matter how you slice it this thing is operating in a pretty narrow niche. And why didn't google just use android which can browse the web and run apps if needed.

I thought the same until I started using one. I have had a CR-48 since their beta and I love it. Even for casual browsing I find it superior to my Nexus 7 as being able to type in comments, make posts, etc is much easier with a keyboard. The only thing in my normal routine of tasks that cannot accomplish on my Chromebook is encoding video and gaming. The convenience of Chrome and Google Drive was really unexpected and has made me a believer. The Drive Apps are getting more robust by the day.

That said, if you cannot easily live within the boundaries of Google's various services, things begin to get dicey.

I think I'm starting to suffer from EDS, "Electronic Device Saturation". Second computer? Hell, this would be a 4th or 5th in my case. Desktop at work, smart phone(android[which I do a hell of a lot on]), gaming PC & Laptop at the domicile.

The pie for consumer electronics is getting outlandishly narrowed into many pieces, with all the producers of these devices screaming theirs is best and can offer so much for people. That's fine, but if all of us were to keep it up, we'll have to start wearing bandoleers just to hold all of our devices, which really goes against one of the primary ideological properties of these items, compact and mobile. Might as well get the ruck sack out for all your stuff at this rate.

I was really considering purchasing the previous Samsung Chromebook for my mother - she really needs a new laptop and only uses it for rather simple tasks like browsing facebook, playing webgames and light document use.

The only two things holding me back was the screen size (she has poor eyesight) and price - this laptop removes one of those reservations.

I really wish Google would work with Samsung or another OEM to develop a chromebook with a larger screen - 15"+ widescreen would put this solidly in the "purchase" column for me.

From my experience with tablets they aren't exactly there in terms of replacing laptops and the like even for strictly entertainment or browsing purposes. Flash isn't available on all of them and there are websites that rely on it. Then their browsers aren't on par with desktop browsers. The ecosystems have various ways of locking you down and every mobile operating system have their quirks that make me just want to reach for my laptop. For instance although I prime customer with Amazon I can't get prime instant video on my Nexus 7 because it is directly competing with their Kindle Fire. Apple still doesn't like people change their default apps in iOs. These examples may sound nitpicky and they are because 90% of the time using a good tablet such as the iPad or Nexus 7 is an enjoyable experience.

But maybe this is just my experience and others rarely experience that 10%. For those who do I think the Chromebook is a great option for personal use.

At $250 I kind of want one, but the utter lack of functionality bothers me. I mean, realistically, I spend 95% of my time at a computer staring at a web browser, but that doesn't mean I don't use other programs. If it supported some kind of programming IDE I'd be more inclined to grab one.

It's a solid entry from Google, priced right. Smart for schools and students, well focused and well executed. Hopefully Google will keep on their roll, or at least getting the target and focus on their needs.

This is win.

As someone who is concerned about where the next generation of computer programmers are going to come from, providing school kids with a laptop that just runs Chrome doesn't seem like a "win" to me.

Kids are using computers in school earlier and earlier. From 8-14 it is pretty close to perfect, they are cheap and simple with very few ways for them to go sideways. It fulfills all the requirements for note taking, research and social. Programming isn't something until 15 or so, before that home computers are what people will be playing with. Having everyone have something that can program and tinker with, I think will causes more problems than benefit.

If you want to browse the internet and write quick emails you get a tabletIf you want to create content and run real apps you get a laptop/desktopIf you want to browse the internet and write long emails you get a chromebook?

No matter how you slice it this thing is operating in a pretty narrow niche. And why didn't google just use android which can browse the web and run apps if needed.

In our EDU (9-12) environment we use Google Drive/docs for almost all document creation and collaboration. To me this is a great companion for any organization who is using Google Apps, and utilizes docs.

And to be honest, that price translates to £160 in the UK. It'll probably be a bit more than that after tax. But that definitely puts it on my "to look at when the netbook dies" list.

Heck, I might even get myself one for Christmas...

It's listed at PC World for £199.97 with a £50 cashback - so even cheaper than it is in the US. If you expect this to last two years and consider than 100GB of Google Drive would cost $120 for that this is an incredibly good price.

As for why this rather than a tablet - the keyboard really is the issue. Even with the best efforts of SwiftKey or Swype, touch-screen keyboards still suck for anything slightly intensive. You can fiddle around with an add-on keyboard, but why bother when you can get something for the same price where it's integrated? This is a very an attractive option for someone who wants a cheap machine for light tasks that will involve a lot of text entry - and that covers a lot of use-cases.

What student would be better off with a web browser, than a real laptop?

If you are in the market for a real laptop, you probably should look at them, not Chromebooks. They are supplemental computers, not primary machines.

Laptops are fine supplemental computers as well. What does this do that would recommend it over a laptop?

The "it has a keyboard" argument only gets you so far, when we already have a perfectly fine device with a keyboard.

The fact it weighs less, costs less and still does the same things is a pretty good argument.

At a release price of $250, I'll be diving on one when it hits sub-$200 without a doubt. Way too many times have I put down my tablet and wandered off to find my PC where a netbook device is really what I need.

Plus apparently some people have never tried to add a keyboard to an iPad. It's a pretty bad experience outside of a handful of apps, as you're still pressing the screen (there's no mouse, basically). You can do a lot with a mouse that you can't really do well on a vertical tablet.

The biggest thing for me will be that if I'm at home, I can remote log into my desktop and I basically have a windows laptop when I need it, something else that's a horrendous experience on a tablet.

Programming isn't something until 15 or so, before that home computers are what people will be playing with.

...Really? Maybe it's not the norm but my techie friends and I were putzing around in QuickBASIC already in elementary school. I don't think it's a good idea to limit the activities of kids with computers (computers themselves, that is - not the Internet at large). If they have the interest to want to code, let them code!

I think I'm starting to suffer from EDS, "Electronic Device Saturation". Second computer? Hell, this would be a 4th or 5th in my case. Desktop at work, smart phone(android[which I do a hell of a lot on]), gaming PC & Laptop at the domicile.

This is the main reason why I won't be getting one. I still have a netbook from a few years back that fills exactly the niche the chromebook fills, and it even runs chrome as its browser (on ubuntu). Add that to 3 laptops (not counting the netbook), a desktop, a tablet, and two smartphones. I have too much working gear to defend to myself another gear purchase.

I had had to do a double take on that second pic of the unit open. The keyboard, trackpad area look so close to the aluminum Macbooks. The up/down arrow keys even have the same style curve separating them and the indent for using your thumb to open the top. Samsung has no shame.

The fact it weighs less, costs less and still does the same things is a pretty good argument.

It only does what a laptop does in it's browser. Can I run Office, Photoshop? Play my favorite Windows Games. Do much of anything when I don't have internet access?

Quote:

Plus apparently some people have never tried to add a keyboard to an iPad. It's a pretty bad experience outside of a handful of apps, as you're still pressing the screen (there's no mouse, basically). You can do a lot with a mouse that you can't really do well on a vertical tablet.

The biggest thing for me will be that if I'm at home, I can remote log into my desktop and I basically have a windows laptop when I need it, something else that's a horrendous experience on a tablet.

This part of your answer to why this is better than a Laptop, is that tablets suck?

If you want to browse the internet and write quick emails you get a tabletIf you want to create content and run real apps you get a laptop/desktopIf you want to browse the internet and write long emails you get a chromebook?

No matter how you slice it this thing is operating in a pretty narrow niche. And why didn't google just use android which can browse the web and run apps if needed.

Sounds like it can be a good development laptop, if you do most of your work on a development server and all you need is a terminal.

Almost compelling. I'd go for this exact machine with ChromeOS removed and replaced with Ubuntu or something assuming it can actually play 1080p h264 smoothly via HDMI.

My perfect laptop is under $300, has no moving parts, < 12" screen, doesn't lock out my ability to change OS's at the kernel level, can play back 1080p via HDMI on Linux, and gets 6+ hours of battery life.

My Grandmothers Christmas present.. This let's her email and read news articles that her friends email to her, but without the worry of viruses. It will also allow her to type out old school letters that she likes to send to specific people not on email yet. It's perfect for her, a laptop, minus all the stuff she never would use and the extra tech support from me.

I agree for some it doesn't make sense though, especially if you already have a tablet and other computer(s). It does seem the perfect guest/kitchen computer though. Would much rather have friends and family check emails/mess around on the internet on this thing than my personal computer/tablet.

1. Is the 100 GB of Google Drive storage permanent, or only for a specific period of time?

2. Does the Chromebook support multiple user logins?

3. I assume that there is some kind of BIOS code which would make it impractical to install Linux on this?

Not sure about #1, but:

2) Chrome OS does allow for multiple user logins - your credentials are your Google username and password (though there's also a Guest account that can be used).

3) Past Chromebooks have had a developer switch that can be flipped to unlock the bootloader, at which point you could hack around and eventually install alternative OSes. Those were Intel Chromebooks though - not sure if the ARM Chromebook will behave the same way, and even if it does it may be more trouble than it's worth for many people.

I don't see how this really addresses needs of students besides the price. How many students have a second computer? Most student's primary computer these days is already a laptop, so mimicking the form factor doesn't make sense to me. To me this is a more expensive one-laptop-per-child type niche where students from less affluent areas can afford bare essentials.

Chromebooks seem better suited for public access terminals or kiosks like in bars, coffee shops and libraries where you could borrow one for internet use. This niche may also be better served by tablets, but I can see where some places would want a keyboard for customers like using it for a job application terminal or customer service survey.

I'd like to play with it, and as all of my Dad's computer use is online anyway it would serve well for him.

What I would like to see, personally, is the same thing with Android, extended with some windowing capabilities. From the perspective of a light-use laptop/netbook type device, that's all that my Transformer really lacks; there are a few occasions it would be handy to have a couple of windows open.

(From the perspective of a "tablet" device, it needs handwriting. I still think anything called a tablet should have that capability.)

My Grandmothers Christmas present.. This let's her email and read news articles that her friends email to her, but without the worry of viruses. It will also allow her to type out old school letters that she likes to send to specific people not on email yet. It's perfect for her, a laptop, minus all the stuff she never would use and the extra tech support from me.

I think you nailed the niche. A computer for computer resistant seniors. But that market will probably want/need a bigger screen.

Looks interesting,but I can still think of a major caveat--it's great to work with cloud-based services IF you have good wireless connectivity. If not, well, that's another issue entirely. It has limited offline capabilities, but I would be a bit leery of depending upon it...

Perhaps the coming advances in HTML5 offline storage will make this a compelling offering in the future...

*sighs* I wish whatever exec at Google who has this bug up their butt to provide a desktop web OS would just give it up. Its eating resources that could be going to better things like making Android better or dare I suggest it: make Google Voice suck less. Google Chromebooks are a solution in search of a problem. I'd rather get an Asus Transformer. #1 its more capable then a chromebook. #2 it has more software then a chromebook. #3 it does double duty as a tablet and a netbook. #4 It has an OS that is a hell of a lot more robust then ChromeOS.

Chrome OS and Android started around the same time through different implementation tracks. Android was just phone. Chrome OS was just a low end netbook. Once it became obvious that Android was going to be a tablet OS and that companies were going to use it as a a kinda wanna be desktop OS, Chrome OS and Android should have merged into a single product line like Windows NT and Windows 9x eventually did with XP and to a lesser extent 2K.

The problem is there is some person or people at Google who I'm certain this is their pet project just as the Tablet PC was Bill Gates's. They refuse to let it go and its hampering things.

Sorry, bit off topic, but I can't tell you how convenient it is to have a small laptop sitting in the kitchen. I set up an old leveno x61 with ubuntu for this purpose some years ago and haven't regretted it a bit. One can reference recipies on the fly, check weather in the morning while waiting for coffee to brew, catch up on email, etc... Man, I love how technology is progressing and how common place they are now.

One thing that I think would be pretty cool would be a tablet with some nice strong magnets in the corners so you could stick it to a refrigerator or other metal surface.

So, I was definitely a skeptic of the Chrome OS idea until I got the CR-48. 95% of what I do at home is on the web. For surfing the web, it is an ideal machine:

1. quiet (SSD drive, no fan)2. long battery life3. Instant on4. No updates to worry about5. No nags (our of space, buffer overflow, blue screen of death)6. Cloud focused (this could be a blessing or a curse, for me a blessing as I access content from multiple systems).7, Cheap8. Fast enough

If you look at your computer(s) as each having to do everything, then you are going to end up with the SUV of systems; ok at a lot of things, great at none. If you recognize that the world is moving to more specialized tools, the Chromebook makes a ton of sense.

As to Chromebook vs. tablet. It all comes down to how much you "create." I create enough that my chromebook is used far more often than my HP Touchpad running android. The chromebook is a stupid simple machine that is very well suited for living on the web. To some that's a curse (it doesn't do enough) for me it makes eminent sense as it does it's designed function far better than the windows, OSX and linux machines that I have lying about.